Why we need more systematic data to get PPPs right

A few years ago, I participated in a meeting to discuss best practices in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) regulation. There was no shortage of examples. In fact, PPP practitioners were eager to share their experiences from countries around the world, but we did not have a systematic way to make all that information accessible to policy makers. Moreover, at the time, I kept thinking that there were many more good examples beyond those we were sharing at the meeting.

The lack of systematic data on the quality of PPP regulation was a serious issue. What we needed was a comprehensive, systematic way to go beyond individual examples. How could we collect available information, organize it in a rigorous and systematic way, and make it all accessible to policy makers?

The report puts data at our fingertips that have not only been scrutinized for consistency, but also makes it easily comparable. Reliable, systematic data can help policy makers allocate resources more wisely in areas that deserve more attention. For example, one of the most discussed topics among PPP practitioners has been the lack of well-prepared PPP projects and most of them agree that a sound appraisal of a project requires at least seven assessments during preparation phase (Figure 1) [ (1) socioeconomic analysis; (2) fiscal affordability; (3) environmental assessment; (4) risk identification; (5) financial viability; (6) comparative assessment with traditional procurement; and (7) market sounding]. These assessments would help gauge the procurement authorities’ understanding of the key elements of the project, enabling them to properly structure the project and design the draft PPP contract. This would then ensure a project of optimal quality most likely to attain financial closure.

However, we knew very little about how countries typically addressed requirements for the relevant government agencies to perform those assessments during preparation phase, or how they developed methodologies to provide guidance and guarantee consistency across PPP projects.

I am very hopeful that by providing these data, Procuring Infrastructure PPPs 2018 will enrich the debate on PPPs and help to increasingly get PPPs right so that people in countries around the world can gain access to much-needed, quality infrastructure services.